


Let the Cards Fall Where They May

by Coffeeteanves



Series: Sliding Into Her DMs [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Swimming, teacher
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23656177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coffeeteanves/pseuds/Coffeeteanves
Summary: What happens when Niall meets the girl that catches his interest during his livestreams? Is there anything there?  This is super, super fluffy and about getting to know one another when one is a member of a famous band and the other is a teacher with her own famous ties. It is their day to life as they go through the quarantine.The sequel to "There is a Flutter In my Chest." Read that first.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Sliding Into Her DMs [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1703272
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

A week goes by and Cait and Niall fall into a rhythm, Niall keeping himself busy throughout the day playing, singing, writing, having set up a bit of a home studio to record if he feels like it, going on Instagram daily, but goes Live only once a week, if at all. He also chats with some radio stations and calls in to be interviewed to some places his manager has set up. Cait teleconferences daily, but they find themselves texting and calling throughout the day with a quick question or random thought. 

One thing that they hold true to are their carpet picnics. Sometimes doing breakfast, sometimes lunch, sometimes dinner. They take turns in each other’s hallways, but have received some weird looks from other tenants on Cait’s floor, so more often than not, since there is only one other tenant on his floor, she comes up here. They switch off cooking for each other, sharing some of their favorite recipes. Sometimes, they just bring their own food. Other times, when she has a stressful day, Niall will order take out from one of the local joints. Cait always tries to pay him back, they argue, he always win.

Occasionally, Niall will play and sing for her some nights while she lays there and listens, sometimes with her eyes closed and a relaxed smile on her face. Those are some of his favorite moments when he can stare at her and just absorb her energy. It is moments like this, that make the think of a future, one with her in it. 

After a month of our quarantine and no sign of change with the current health rules, he decides to see where the next card would fall. Neither of them have shown symptoms, so one night after dinner, he asks if Cait thinks that maybe they could eat a little closer to each other. Figuring they have breathed the same air for two weeks with no signs of problems, it is worth the chance. 

Her face lit up when asked and she inched closer to Niall. They talked through dinner and Niall brought out a cheesecake he made, feeding her a spoonful. Cait was sitting with her legs crossed next to him and she rested her head on Niall’s shoulder saying how good it was. Without thinking, he moved his arm around her and the feeling of her sending comfortable shocks through his body.

Niall says quietly, “This is nice.” 

“Yes, it is,” she replied. 

“It’s almost like you were meant to fit there,” he said feeling his stomach flip over. 

“I think so too,” she said quietly as she looked up at Niall. When he looked down, without realizing it, he leaned in and she leaned up and their lips met. 

It was gentle at first, but slowly, her lips parted and he explored her mouth with his tongue. She gave willingly and leaned in. When they finally broke away, they were both on their knees and she had a dazed look on her face and her eyes were closed. She started to fall back and Niall caught her and brought her against him, concern in his eyes. 

“Cait?” Niall questions. 

“Umm, wow! I think I just had a kiss like they talk about in movies. That was amazing,” she says.

Niall’s eyes widened, loving the warm feeling spreading over him, replying, “Yeah, yeah, it was. Can I do it again?” Cait nodded.

This time they were a little more urgent, both visibly shaking when they broke away. Not so sure if it was the first human contact each other had in over a month or something else. 

She was first to break the silence, “Ummmm, that was nice, like really nice, but I think it would be a good idea for both of us for me to go.” 

“Did I upset you?” 

“No, but this shouldn’t go any further.” 

Niall looked at her crushed, heart hammering in his chest. A thousand thoughts running through his head. “Wait, why? What are you saying?” 

Thinking he didn’t want her to leave and afraid she wouldn’t come back. 

She quickly starts picking things up, “I just got out of a relationship, you just got out of a relationship, neither of us have had physical contact in over a month and that is just our bodies responding, not anything else. I mean what are we even doing? You are you, you could have anyone and I am a simple school teacher from Bayswater. God, I told myself, not to believe, ugh, why did I do that?” Cait is talking a mile a minute, Niall having a hard time following, but feel the heat of her words. 

“Wait, wait, CAIT! Stop for a minute,” he says increasingly raising his voice. 

She stops and looks at him with hair flying around her face and flushed cheeks. She huffs out a breath to push a wisp of hair back that makes his stomach jump again at the adorable cuteness. He would acknowledge this, but is becoming scared. 

“Cait, I don’t know what it means, but I know that I wanted to kiss you, have for awhile actually, and I liked it, I liked it with you. No other girl has ever made me feel the way I did when we kissed just now. Please don’t leave like this,” he begs. 

“Umm, well.” She brushes her hands on her hips and looks around, not quite sure what to do. “Okay, okay, what do you want to do?” 

“You said the first time we met face to face to see where the cards fall, can we just say this is the first card? If you want to go home, go, but promise me you will respond to my texts and calls. I don’t want this to be the end, I see this as the beginning.”

“You do?” she asks looking up to meet Niall’s eyes. 

“Yes, this is a product of circumstance but I like it, and you are right to have some concerns. To be honest, I do too. Tell you what, will you come over for breakfast tomorrow, in me flat, proper like. Write down your concerns, questions, whatever, and let’s talk. If after, we decide that we are meant to be friends, then I came out of this pandemic with a heck of a friend. If we want to see what happens, then who am I to test fate. Let the cards fall, right? Niall finishes.

He holds his breath, waiting to see what she will say, knowing that moment could make a difference in his happiness. 

“Alright, I like that idea. When?” She says. 

“Ten?” he asks. 

“Yeah, that works. I will be here, I promise.” 

A huge smile breaks across Niall’s face as he opens his arms hopeful for a hug. She closes the distance between them and he envelopes her realizing, she fits perfectly against his body. After a moment, she breaks away.

“Good ‘ight.” And he watches her walk away. 

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, Niall thinks, shaking his fists up in the air, feeling his stomach churn through a series of emotions. He picks up the hallway and goes inside to figure out what he is going to cook for tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Niall has just enough ingredients to make crepes with eggs and strawberries. Healthy, original and hopefully something she will like and can impress her.

With that planned, he opens up the group chat. He types and wait. “I kissed her.” It didn’t take long.

“Who, Cait, are you still talking?” – Liam  
He cringes, realizing he hadn’t mentioned her in awhile. 

“Holy hell mate, took you long enough.” – Louis  
“Lou, really? I think he was being a gentleman.” – Zayn  
“Can we Zoom, I will tell you everything?” – Me

Before Niall knew it, he was looking at the guys, no Harry this time, but he wanted to tell them and he was too impatient to text. Niall recounts to them the situation. Talk about kiss and tell, but there was something different about Cait, not like any of the other girls he dated. The boys interjected throughout and Lou kept rolling his eyes, asking if this was a rom com. 

They all agreed that he did a good job saving it and that it was a good move to invite her for breakfast. Agreeing to contact them after to let them know how it goes, they all get off, but Louis. 

Niall looks up, “Lou, what’s up?” Lou leaves the screen and Harry’s head pops up. 

“Hi Ni.” 

Niall can’t hide his surprise, the last thing he knew was Harry was in LA. “Harry, what’s going on?”   
“I was able to get a private flight out after being in quarantine, we had to use a plant, but I was able to come home, but I want to talk about you.” 

Of course, Harry and Lou would figure out a way, they always do. “What’s up?”

“Is she right, did you only kiss her because of the need for touch? It is okay if it is, but she is not like us, she didn’t grow up in the spotlight, she is trying to protect her heart and give you an out so neither of you get hurt. That means she likes you Ni, she doesn’t want you to get hurt, remember that. Tread carefully. You have been out of a relationship for two years, what about her?” 

“Six months.” 

“Right, she is still feeling the effects of that. Don’t be her rebound guy either, I don’t want you to get hurt. Listen to her tomorrow, answer her questions honestly and don’t hold back. Follow that flutter.” He chuckled at the end. 

“Thanks, Haz, it just like when I talk to her, I find myself becoming lost in her voice. Then when I look at her, I become lost in her eyes and could stare at her forever. When she laughs, I want to do everything I can to make her laugh again, it is the best music I have heard. And just being near her, it is like she always has been there, like she has been part of my life for years. It feels so comfortable, like right.” Niall takes a deep breath and continues. “I find myself imagining what my life would be like with her in it. She would come with me on tour when she can, I could go to her swim meets, cheer her on during her races, travel with her when she wants to get off the grid and play the guitar while she takes her pictures,” he finishes, flushed ,wishing he could shove those words back in his mouth, but too late now. 

“Geeez, Nialler you have it bad, like so bad,” Louis said as he popped up into the frame. 

“Lou, be kind. But Ni, he is right, you have it bad and the words to a song too, if you want it. But you know what, everything you described, I get it, that was Lou and me. We just knew, but to get where we are now, we had a lot of conversations. Take it slow, but don’t forget to protect your heart.” 

“I hear ya’, Haz, so you think this, this that I am feeling is real?” 

“I do Ni, I do” 

“So do I.” Niall huffs, when Lou pipes up. He always likes to put his two cents in. “Just be careful and remember, go for it if you can live with the consequences.” 

“Thanks man and you too, Lou. I catch ya’ later, yes?” They sign off. 

Niall sits back. Putting words to his feelings scared him, but if this was the real deal, who is he to question.


	3. Chapter 3

Niall tosses and turned most of the night, feeling really excited about breakfast the next day. He wakes up with the first rays of the sun coming in through the window. Deciding it was pointless to try to go back to sleep, he grabs a granola bar and decides to go on his run. 

The elevator stops on the way down, Niall flinches when he looks up, Cait walks in, but she doesn’t make eye contact, she retreats to the opposite side of the elevator. 

“Good morning.” 

She looks up with a start and her eyes go wide when she sees him. 

“Good morning, little early for you to be running today, isn’t it?” She asks grinning. 

“Well, I have a date at ten so, I needed to rearrange my schedule a bit.”

“A date huh? Is that what it is?” She asks. 

“I would like to think it is, but I will call it whatever you do.” 

She shrugs her shoulders and asks “Want a buddy today?” 

Niall would love nothing more than a buddy, but he can’t quite speak that aloud yet, so he nods. 

They stretch on the side of the building and head towards the park, Niall gives her the lead. After about 30 minutes, he wishes he had it. She is kicking his butt, but his pride will not let him stop. They don’t talk at all, just the steady sound of their footfalls and Niall’s heavy breathing. She finally stops after four miles and turns around and asks if he enjoyed the warm up. 

“WHAT?” he wheezes resting his hands on his knees. 

“My warm up is four miles and then I kick it up for my six mile and then I cool down for two.” She looks up at him with a huge grin on her face. 

Niall can’t hide his shock, but his knee is already reminding him that it is there, and he knows his limits, pride be damned. 

“Umm, well,” he scratches the back of his head as he clutches his side, “this is a little more than I usually do, I think I am going to have to head back.” 

Cait breaks out into giggles and then laughter to the point where she is snorting. She clutches her sides, “You stubborn git, I never do this much, but I didn’t want to stop in case you did.” 

By this time, they are both laughing. Maybe they need to work on their communication. “Can we walk back; I have a bum knee and it is starting to act up?”

Proof of that happens when Niall turns around and puts weight on it. Immediately he finds himself on the ground, his knee giving out. He sees white for a second and tries to school his face. 

“Niall, oh goodness, are you okay?” Pain shoots up and down his leg, he tries to control his breathing, silently praying that it will ease, hoping this is not a repeat of before. 

“Yeah, give me a sec. It happens sometimes, had surgery on it and it likes to remind me of it. Help me up, will ya?”

Cait helps him hobble over to the nearest bench. Niall stretches his knee out and moves it around a little, finding the pain easing and he tries to stand after a few minutes. 

She jumps up and keeps a hand around Niall’s waist when he starts to stumble. The pain is there but it is bearable. 

“Can you make it home. I can go back and grab the car?” she asks.

“Nah, if we take it slow, I think I can make it, we can cut across the park.” 

It takes awhile, but they finally catch sight of their building. By this time, Niall is limping more and his knee is communicating that it is not happy. He is leaning on Cait a little more, but she doesn’t complain. 

“Your place or mine?” She asks. 

“Mine, if you don’t mind. I have some ice packs and meds I can take.” 

She helps him sit down at the kitchen table and pulls out another chair and helps him bring his leg up to rest. Niall eases up his pant leg when Cait returns with an ice pack, he grimaces again when he sees his swollen knee. God damnit! 

The next thing he knows, Cait is gingerly placing the ice pack on his knee and is asking where his meds are. 

She comes hustling back saying “It says take with food, let me make you something right quick.” 

Before Niall knows it, she is bustling around the kitchen, opening cabinets and drawers and cooking up some scrambled eggs. He glances up and his breath catches in his throat. She looks so natural, so assured of herself, biting her bottom lip as she concentrates on the task at hand. Niall watches, the pain of his knee forgotten until she sets a plate in front of him with OJ and two pills. 

“Cait, thank you,” he said sincerely. “You really didn’t have to do this, in fact, this is not how I imagined breakfast going this morning.”

“Nonsense, you were hurt, of course I would help you. We can talk later. Now take your pills like a good boy and let’s get you situated,” she says.

“Yes, mum,” he replies.

She helps Niall over to the couch and sets him up with pillows and a fresh ice pack and plops down next to him. 

“Movie?” she asks. 

“Sure, you choose.” He replies, yawning and snuggling down a little bit, thinking none of this is how he pictured this, morning going. She has seen him hurt, cooked for him and now he is laying against her.

“I can hear your thoughts up here, ya’. Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the movie. I am not going anywhere.” 

She starts running her fingers through his hair, something his mum would do whenever he was sick. Niall’s eyes are getting heavy, thanks to the lack of sleep and pills. The movie starts fading into the background and he leans into her and sighs. 

Cait whispers “Go to sleep, we can talk when you wake up.” 

Niall doesn’t remember much after that.


	4. Chapter 4

Niall wakes up groggy and realizes he is laid out on his couch, with a pillow under his head and knee and a blanket covering him. He hears the sound of something sizzling in a pan and smells something amazing. The lights are dim in the living room and he realizes it is dark outside. Then, he hears someone moving around in the kitchen. 

Sitting up, Niall gingerly stretches out his knee, it is stiff, but nowhere near the pain he felt this morning. 

“Oh, good you are awake, I thought I may have to wake you up. Dinner is almost ready,” Cait says. 

Niall sits there stunned a moment. Cait is in different clothes than before, her beautiful hair loose around her shoulders and she looks right at home. 

She walks over to him and leans down eye to eye. 

“You okay sleepyhead, I saw the side effects of the pills were drowsiness, so I knew you would probably sleep awhile. I went back to my flat when I knew you were out, left a note in case you got worried saying I would be back,” she says. “Then I showered and brought some work up here to do until dinner. You didn’t even move. How you feelin’ now?”

Niall’s mind is going a mile a minute, and he eeks out, “Better, just a little stiff.”

“Okay, let’s get you up and eating, I am starved and you haven’t eaten anything since breakfast,” Cait says. 

Cait helps him up and puts her arm at his waist as he puts weight on his knee, it holds and she drops her arm. Niall would have liked if she kept it there, but she heads back into the kitchen and he sits down at the table. 

She brings the food to the table and with drinks and just like that, they are eating. 

“Umm, thank you, thank you for everything. You didn’t have to do this or take care of me. You are very thoughtful. This is not how I thought this day would go at all,” Niall says.

“Nonsense, I feel partially responsible for this since I pushed you this morning, this,” Cait swings her arm wide, “is the least I could do. Besides, I had nowhere else to be. Now let’s eat.” 

The food is amazing, it was nice to have a homemade meal without having to cook it. They kept the conversation light and she questioned him about his knee. It was then that Niall realized that she didn’t really know much about him. He shared his story about his knee and joint issues, surgery and recovery. Then she shared a story about hers, double knee cap dislocation and before they knew it, they were swapping stories about injuries, stitches, and what not. 

“My brothers dislocated my elbow three times, on the third time, they didn’t want my mom to get mad, so they took it upon themselves to pop it back in, now I can predict the weather.” 

“Well, on stage, one time, Liam went in for a tackle and my foot didn’t give when we fell and I thought that now I injured both knees. It was just a sprain, but he didn’t tackle me for the rest of the tour, which was nice.”

“I was playing footie one time and a teammate fell on my ankle, before I knew it, cracked growth plate and crutches for nine weeks, rightly sucked for sure.”

“I woke up one day and me foot hurt, didn’t remember doing anything to it and I found out I fractured it. Sucked ‘cause I had no good story to go with it. Boys gave me right fit over that one.” 

“My brothers said we should play a game to see who can hit their chin to the railing the hardest, I wanted to win, now I have this.” She lifts her head up and I see a thin line of a scar on her chin. 

“Your brothers sound a right mess, did they not like you?” Niall asked.

“Oh, we got up to trouble all the time. I got revenge, sprinkled some jalapeno juice over the toilet paper one night. Made for an exciting morning, never knew it was me though, beat the crap out of each other. Couldn’t sit down for a while either.” 

By this time, Niall was in a fit of laughter. Cait was really something else. 

“I can’t believe we are comparing injuries, what are we even doing?” he asks. 

“Getting to know each other, I think,” Cait replies. 

“What’s the worse injury you have ever had?” he asks. 

“Worse, or most painful?” Cait clarifies.

“Either I suppose, mine was my MCL and I kept performing long after I should have, had the surgery, crutches, therapy, all that, then at a concert five months later a fan threw a phone at my knee and it was awful, I thought I was back where I started again. That pain was worse than that surgical pain.” Niall finishes, shuddering just thinking about it. 

“Do fans throw stuff at you a lot? That seems silly,” She asks. 

She has no idea. “It comes with the territory unfortunately. What about you?” He inquires. 

“Mmmm, mine was probably my concussion. I played some footie in college and my boyfriend had come to watch me play for the first time. I was cocky, wanted to show off, played keeper. Went for the ball and found myself on the bottom of a pile up, another player mistook my head for the ball and kept kicking. Once we all got up, I thought I was fine, missed the next two goals until my coach pulled me and I lost consciousness right there at my boyfriend’s feet. Don’t remember much after that, but when I became aware enough, I was missing a week and I was in my boyfriend’s flat. Don’t like not remembering . . .” Cait just cut off and was staring in the distance.  
“Earth to Cait, you with me?” 

“Sorry, lost memories, you know. Sometimes they take hold when you least expect them. Well, let’s get this cleaned up.” She says. 

Niall knows the moment is over, but there is something there that affected her deeply. Cait gets up and starts clearing the table as he makes a move to help her, she says “Stay put, I got this, stay off that knee.” 

It was at that exact moment that Niall wanted every night to be like this. It has been a long time since someone cared about him the way she did today. That warmth in Niall’s chest was there as he watched her move about the kitchen like she has always been there. It was so natural and he wanted to cook with her, dance with her, he wanted to kiss her again. 

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked walking over to him. 

Niall moves to grab her hands and looking into her eyes as she stands between his legs looking down with this gorgeous smile. He pulls himself up, cups her face gently and leans down to kiss her. Their lips meet and a breath escapes her as he deepens the kiss. It is just as electric as the first, but when they break away, she wrinkles her nose. 

“What, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, don’t take this wrong way, but you stink!” 

Niall eyes widened and he starts laughing. She knows how to put him in his place, but he lifts up his arm and gets a whiff, realizing she is not wrong. 

“Sorry about that, had a hard workout this morning and then a little knee problem, haven’t had a chance to properly shower yet. Want to stay while I do and we can hang out some more?” 

“Niall, it is already 11, I am beat and you probably are too. Rain check?”

Niall looks up in shock, how does time fly by so fast when he is in her orbit? 

“Tonight, was really nice Cait. I would love a rain check. Thank you again for taking care of me. Call me tomorrow when you wake up?” He says as he walks her to the door. 

When they get there, she leans up to give him another kiss and then a hug and says good night. 

Niall closes the door and leans against it taking a deep breath, he has it bad, but that is okay.


	5. Chapter 5

Waking up, Niall hears the telltale sound of text notifications and they are not letting up. Already knowing who they belong to, he groans and takes his time stretching. The next thing he knows, the phone is ringing. 

“’lo,” he answers. 

“Niallers, what happened, we all want to know, clue us in. You are the closest thing we have to anything interesting going on. How did the talk go? The boys are all on too,” Louis says. 

Niall pulls the phone away from his ear and sees he is part of four-way conference call. Groaning, he pushes his way up to leaning up against the headboard and says, “Well, if you want to call hurting m’self, hobbling home on her shoulder, then having her take care of me while I am passed out on the couch, then waking up to find her cooking dinner in my kitchen while I am sitting at the table a good thing, then our talk went great, but we really never got around to it. We are going to do it today.”

Silence, breathing from the boys is the only thing he hears. 

“Wow, that’s a lot to process,” Zayn says. 

“What happened, what do you mean you got hurt?” Liam asked, always the concerned one. 

“Let’s just say we are both very competitive and went running together and didn’t want to be the first person to fold, my knee made the decision for me,” Niall replies. 

“Nice, Ni, way to take care of yourself,” Zayn said. 

“Hey, I didn’t want to be a wuss-boy now, I needed to show her I could keep up, but she had the last laugh,” he said. 

“So what is going to happen now, what’s the plan?” Harry asked. 

“We are going to meet up today and who knows what is going to happen, but I will let you know,” he answers. 

They hang up shortly after that with a promise for an update. Then he calls Cait and she is going to come up for the promised breakfast in about an hour. Niall showers, testing out his knee, thankful that it is just stiff and no pain when he walks on it. 

He puts coffee on, and start cooking when he hears the doorbell ring. The moment Niall answers the door, he can tell something is wrong. His face immediately changes to a look of concern,

What’s wrong, Boo?” Not realizing that a nickname popped out.

She tells him that her administrator contacted her and she has to pack her room up for the summer and it really sunk in that she is not going to see her students anymore. He hugs her, not knowing what else to do and they eventually head to the kitchen. 

Niall doesn’t like to see her upset and offers to go and help her. 

“You would do that, um, that is really nice of you?” she asks. 

“Sure, I can see where you work and I want to help you,” he replies.

“I have to go on Tuesday, will that work?” she asks. 

“Let me check my calendar, I think I can manage something,” he responds smiling. 

After that, they sit down and enjoy brunch keeping the conversation light because Niall knows they have some stuff to talk about. 

When finished they move to the couch with mugs of tea and immediately the lighthearted mood changes. Niall takes a deep breath and ask if she wants to start, not really knowing what is going on in her mind.

She looks at him, takes a deep breath and lets it all out. 

“Niall, I really, really like you and this last month has made time fly by. I love spending time with you, everything just feels natural, but a part of me can’t help but think, what is going to happen when this ends? Are we going to forget we ever knew each other, because if that is the case, I need to know now. I don’t think I can piece myself back together again. I am allowing myself to feel things, even things I haven’t felt in my previous relationship and I want to pursue those feelings with you, but once this is over, will there be a place for me with you?

Cait looks down and takes a sip of coffee and Niall feels warm inside because she likes him, and she is feeling the same things he is. 

“I don’t think I could ever forget you, nor do I want to, I think I love you,” he whispers. 

Cait continues talking, not commenting on what he just said.

“. . . because, I think it is more than I like you, I think I may be falling in love with you a little more every day. You are climbing into my heart and breaking down those walls that I work so hard to keep. . . .Wait!, what did you just say?” Cait says with bright eyes as she looks at me. 

He looks at her trying to communicate the love he feels for her through his expression and says, “I don’t want to forget you, I want to be with you . . .” 

“No, no, that other part.” She interrupts.

“I think I love you,” he says softly. 

“Yes, that one,” she responds with a smile. 

He takes that opportunity to lean forward and kiss her at that moment, trying to channel everything he feels into that kiss. She responds and the kiss deepens as he pushes her onto her back and they lose ourselves in each other. 

“That was nice, you are an amazing kisser,” she whispers sometime later.

“Yeah, it was, I could get used to this,” he replies happily laying across her, trying not to crush her. 

“Well, me too, it seems we are on the same page,” she says kissing him again as she goes to get up. 

They settle into each other’s arms and she asks, “so how are we going to handle this?”

“Can we take it day by day and figure it out as we go? Cait, I love you; I think I have from the beginning. I fell hard and it was fate that we ended up living in the same building. I know we have different lifestyles, but I am willing to see how our lives slot together. I know there are going to challenging things we are going to face. Hell, I have to go on tour when this over, but I want to make this work,” he says. 

“But, you are a famous singer who has all these experiences that I cannot even imagine, I am a simple school teacher, when this is over, where am I am going to fit in, how am I going to fit in? I have no concept of your life, Niall,” she says.

Niall thinks carefully before he responds, she is right. How would the world handle knowing that he has a girlfriend, how would she handle the paps, the media, the fans? He wants to protect her at all costs, is he selfish that he wants her with him? 

“I don’t know Cait, and yeah, I have this whole life I have lived before you and I would be happy to share that with you, but I would rather focus on creating new experiences with you and look forward and not back. You will fit in because I want you to. I want you to share new things with me. But I only want you to do things that make you feel comfortable. Instead of focusing on ‘what if?’ let’s focus on the now,” he says.

He must say the right thing because she looks up at him and he sees the good, pure spirit that she is and she smiles and says, “Let’s see where the cards fall.” 

That is all he needed to hear.


	6. Chapter 6

They spend the rest of the day together. At one point, she gets up and starts walking around his flat, looking around, he watches her from my couch. She asks questions about the awards on the shelves, picking up an American Music Award saying “It’s heavier than imagined.” 

She picks up a picture of the boys and smiles. 

“You look so young here, do you still keep in touch with them?” she asks.

“Yeah, almost every day, they know about you,” he replies.

“What? I would think world famous singers would have other things to do than hear about me,” she says. 

“Well, you would be surprised, they are not very busy at the moment. They were following my livestreams and picked up what was happening. Harry, the one on the left,” he says when she looks at him quizzically. “He is the one who pushed me to DM you and see what happens.” 

“I need to thank him then, who are the other boys?” she says. 

Niall smiles telling her the other boys’ names and then saying, “I would love for you to meet them, they are my brothers and closer to me really, than my own family. We text, Zoom, or talk almost every day since this whole thing happened. Before, if we were in the same town, we would always try to meet up or see each other perform. Harry has a house down the street from mine in LA, so we would also hang out at each other’s house too.” 

She looks at me questioning then, “How many houses do you have?” 

“Umm, three and an apartment in New York,” he replies.

She shakes her head she is trying to wrap her mind around it.

“How long were you all together, I know you were put together on X Factor because that is all my friends talked about, but I didn’t really follow it much after that?” she asks. 

“Five years, but I’m hurt,” as he puts his hand on his chest with a mock expression of sadness. “You haven’t listened to any of our songs?”

“I have, I liked ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ and ‘Story of My Life,’ when I heard them on the radio. I just don’t have a lot of time, I was always studying, reading or taking pictures,” she says. 

He is not sure what to say or how he feels with that as he continues to watch her as she looks at his things. Does she really not know anything about the band, about that era? She picks up a picture of him with some golf buddies, then turns and looks at him with her eyebrows raised asking, “Do you golf?”

“Yeah, I kind of own my own team, we manage 15 pro golf players,” Niall responds while looking down and scratching his head, feeling a little embarrassed, but not sure why.

“Holy hell,” she mutters as she shakes her head again and puts the picture down. 

Next, she picks up a picture of his family and turns warmly to him saying “Tell me about them.”

He does and watches her face light up when he ends up showing her pictures and videos of Theo. She listens, asks questions, and makes little comments and mentions her own nieces and nephews. Before they know it, they are swapping stories and laughing at their shared experiences as the cool aunt and cool uncle. 

Once again, times gets away from them, the sun is setting and Niall is really hungry. 

“Want to stay for dinner?” he asks. 

“Sure,” she responds. 

He gets up to head to the kitchen and she follows. Once again, they fall into a rhythm cooking up some burgers and making a salad. They bump into each other once and just laugh giving each other a quick kiss as they tend to their tasks. 

Sitting down together with some beer feels nice and Niall thinks again, how he would love to do this every day. 

“Today was nice, like one of the best days I have had in awhile,” he says. 

“It was for me too. Thanks for sharing and being honest with me. I like that we are on the same page at the beginning of where ever this is going. I cannot even fathom what your extraordinary life is like, when all of this seems so normal,” she says as she waves her arm around.

Niall looks at her contemplatively and says, “It’s weird, to say normal because to me, what I have experienced is the only thing I have known, that is my normal, not extraordinary. I was doing it day to day, not really aware of what was going on outside of my little world. It was a job for me. But you know one thing that stuck out about today, what you wanted to hear more about was the most normal part of my life, my family and that what means the most to me. You don’t see me as Niall Horan, famous singer, but just Niall.”

Cait gives him this look and says, “But, that is all I know. I mean I hear you sing, I saw you on your livestream, but I didn’t really know anything beyond that.”

Contemplating what she said, he shakes his head

“So, you have seen where I live and my things, when do I get to see your flat?” he asks. 

“You have fed me, why don’t you come to my place after work tomorrow? I am done around 1:00?” she says. 

Niall quickly agrees and they clean up together, walking her to the door, but not without a goodbye kiss. They slot together so well and he feels a thrill when they do. 

“Good night, Cait.” 

“Good night, Niall.” 

He closes the door once she is in the elevator and lets out a sigh, thinking how today was so very special.

As he lays in bed that night, opening the group chat, he types, “We talked, all is good, I am going over to her place tomorrow. We want the same things and are going to take it slow. Good ‘ight.” 

He doesn’t wait up to see their replies.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is fluffy, like really fluffy. Sorry, not sorry. Niall is learning a lot about Cait.

Waking up Monday morning, Niall sets to his morning routine. He decides to livestream around 11 again and this time he connects with a few mates and they go live together. After lunch, he goes for his run and picks up around his flat, watching the clock until he can go down and see Cait. 

They text throughout the day, Cait asking if they can meet at three instead and he decides to bring her flowers, hoping he can find some at the local Tesco when he does grocery shopping, this time buying some extra food. Maybe it is wishful thinking, but he is hoping for some more meals together. 

At 3:00 sharp, he knocks on her door. She greets him with a big smile, but he can tell she is tired so he hands her the flowers. Her face brightens up thanking him, “daffodils and tulips are my favorite, thank you. Come on in,” she finishes and opens the door wider. 

Not sure what to expect, Niall notices the smell first, a flowery smell with a hint of lemon as he follows her in as Cait goes to the kitchen to put the flowers in water. 

He looks around immediately noticing the bright colors, blended in comfort. The windows are open letting the sun shine in and making the flat that much brighter. Her table is white with mismatched chairs of different colors around it. Her couch is polka dots with grey, yellow, and pale green and comfortable blankets over the back. She has paisley overstuffed chairs in complimentary colors connected with a fuzzy rug that looks like one could take a nap on it. He chuckles at a pillow that says “Queen of the Classroom.” White and pale-yellow shelves line one wall filled to the brim with books, music, knick knacks and pictures. Her flat is Cait, everything he thinks to describe her is what he would use to describe her home. Comfy, lighthearted, cozy, happy, it’s like a hug. He loves it. 

Niall smiles at the thought, but what takes him by surprise is the opposite wall. Floor to ceiling pictures of various sizes cover the wall, pictures ranging from landscapes, sunsets, waterfalls, flowers, people, everything. He stands there with his mouth agape because each picture has its own unique perspective and each one is beautiful. 

“You okay there?” she asks with a smile as she walks back in handing him a beer.

“These are amazing, are these all yours?” he asks. 

“Yeah, I love photography and these are my favorites,” Cait says.

“Tell me about them, these are incredible, so beautiful,” he says.

“Well, um,” she mutters, not really sure where to start. “This is in Edinburgh, there is a place called King Arthur’s Seat that you can climb up and these were some old ruins, I noticed that when the sun set over the harbor, it would peak through the old window, so I just waited until it lined up and took the shot. This one is from the Pacific Coast Highway. I pulled over and saw these wildflowers, my friend held my waist while I leaned down the cliff to focus on the waves below, but through the flowers’ perspective. This one is from Hyde Park, on Sunday afternoon they do dances, this elderly couple caught my attention. I only took one picture; see the love they have for one another? I wanted to capture that.” 

Cait continues to explain different pictures and Niall just stares with wide eyes, nodding as she continues. He sees what she sees, things he would have not picked up before if she had not explained it. Nova Scotia, Key West, Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon, Monterrey, Dover Cliffs, Stratford, each picture tells a story. He shakes his head. 

“Sorry, I must be boring you. I get a bit carried away talking about this,” she says. 

“Not at all, this is so impressive, you are incredibly talented, these could be in a gallery,” Niall says. “Have you been any place besides North America?”

“Yes and no, I studied abroad there for my undergrad and then traveled, trying to hit the high points. Now, on my time off, I love to take a train somewhere in Britain and go to a new place, sit in a little café on the sidewalk and just watch and see what I find or go exploring at the local sites. Get off the grid, and recharge a bit. I've been to some other countries when I was younger, but didn't have the chance to explore. I bet you have been to lots of amazing places with your tour,” she says. 

“I have, but not like this. We also hardly had a chance to really explore places and we were so rushed. I am a bit jealous to be honest,” Niall answers. 

Cait smiles at that and says dinner is ready. Niall follows her into the kitchen asking if he can help. She asks him to set the table and points him in the direction of the plates. When he opens the cabinet, he smiles. Nothing matches, from the glasses, mugs, to the flatware, to the plates. Everything is happy colors and designs and each thing is unique, just like her. He just shakes his head, not surprised and grabs what he needs, asking about it.

“Oh, I had a set once, but I kept breaking things, then I decided to pick up things at rummage sales, or places I have visited that bring me joy or make me feel something, a memory or a feeling. Seems I don’t break things as much now. Now, it is just a thing, drives my mum mad, but I love it,” Cait replies. 

She keeps surprising him. They are such polar opposites. She is organized comfort and chaos with soft edges and round corners whereas he is clean, practical, almost utilitarian with everything in its place with sharp corners.

Dinner is delicious comfort food of beef stew and baked bread. Eating and talking, never running out of things to say. 

After they had finished, Cait comments, “You keep looking around, want a tour? I guess it is only fair because I did the same to you.” 

Niall stands up and starts for her shelves, noticing records and a record player sitting nearby, he glances at her with eyes raised. 

She watches from the table saying, “It’s my grands, they loved the old stuff, when they gave up housekeeping, I couldn’t let it go out with the rubbish, it makes me feel like I have something of them with me.” 

He nods and continues looking, noticing so many novels, books, the classics, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Austen, Rossetti, complete works of Shakespeare and some leather-bound editions too. He takes one down and sees a handwritten name inside. 

“Who is this?” he asks. 

“It was my great grandmother’s, it’s a first edition. I could never afford them, but she gave me those when I graduated,” she says. 

He continues on, taking in everything. There are the framed pictures of people, some with Cait, some without. Niall feels her near him now and turns questioning. She picks up a shell and he watches her, “first trip to the beach,” she says. He points to a picture, “my girlfriends from high school.” There is one with her laying across four boys’ laps, they kind of look like her. He sees her face light up, but then dims again. 

“Those are my brothers, it was the last time we were together,” she huffs out a laugh, “they dropped me right after that, I was so mad, rolled down the stairs. Mum was livid.” 

Niall looks at her quizzically thinking that she only had two brothers. Cait must have picked up on it, “The oldest one Kent, he died of a drug overdose shortly after this was taken. Mitchell, a heart attack a few years ago, Peter and Daniel are the ones that live is in Sussex and Waverly.” 

There is a sadness that comes over Cait’s face as Niall watches her, she becomes contemplative for a moment, then takes a sip of her wine and looks back up at Niall. 

He pulls her over to him and kisses her head, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up sad memories.” 

“No, it’s okay, it never is easier, but it is what it is,” she says quietly. 

They continue to look at Cait’s things and Niall enjoys hearing the stories and learning about the items on shelves, each with a different memory associated with it. He is quickly learning that Cait lives life to the fullest and cherishes each moment. That explains why she was so open about the two of them. Niall hugs her closer to him appreciating her even more. 

A basket filled with ribbons catch Niall’s attention and he walks them over to it. When he looks down, he realizes it is filled with medals, so many different shapes and sizes. He raises his eyebrows again, questioning. 

“Oh, my niece made the basket for me in primary, she was so proud of it and said it had to go on my shelves of the things I love,” she responds. 

“Umm, what about what is in it?” he asks. 

“Oh, those, they are just things I pick up when I compete, kind of like participation medals,” she responds and moves away. 

Niall stays and pokes around and notices first place, second places, first female finisher medals from swimming, running and football. Cait is full of surprises. 

Cait shows him the rest of her flat, not nearly as large as his, but the perfect size for her. She avoids the bedroom, but shows him her second room, used as an office. It is as comfortable as the rest of the flat, but is full of pictures and things from teaching and coaching. Niall just stands there amazed again at everything. Her life looks so rich and fulfilled.

“I have dessert if you want it, we can have it on the balcony if you would like,” she says. 

“Mind if I put on some music?” Niall asks. 

“Sure, help yourself,” she answers.

Niall goes straight to the records, loving the old stuff. Ella Fitzgerald, Chuck Berry, Frank Sinatra, Eagles. That catches his attention, he sees “Hotel California” and quickly sets it to play on the record player. “This is one of my favorites,” he says. 

“Me too, good pick, come on, join me,” Cait says. 

They enjoy their dessert, enjoying each other’s company and watch the sunset in silence with only the music to be heard.

Niall breaks the silence, “Your place is beautiful, Cait. It is so you. Everything represents a piece of you in some way, you have truly made a home for yourself, not just a flat like I have,” he finishes with a little bit of remorse in his tone. 

“Thank you,” she says looking at him. “Would you let me take a picture of you?” 

Niall nods as she quickly gets up and grabs her camera, but she doesn’t take a picture. 

They continue to talk, making plans for tomorrow, packing up her classroom. He tells her some stories about the band and the conversation dies down into a comfortable silence. Then he hears a click of a shutter, and then another. Niall quickly looks over at her and sees her camera, he smiles and hears another click. 

“God, your handsome, you look like a Greek Adonis with the sun shining on you,” she says.

Niall blushes bending his head down as she gets up and climbs over on his lap. “I prefer Irish God, thank you very much,” he says cheekily.

“How did I get so lucky?” she asks. 

“You slid into my livestream, if I remember correctly, but then I slid into your DMs,” he says. 

Cait laughs at that and kisses him. 

Niall pulls away asking, “are you going to show me the pics?” 

She opens up her camera and shows him, there are only three pictures, but Niall can’t believe it is him. Of the millions of pictures taken of him, he has never seen himself this way, there is a peace about him that is natural and relaxed and he says as much. 

“It’s because you let your mask down, that’s why I didn’t take the pictures right away, when we know we are going to have pictures, we put up barriers to hide a part of ourselves, to protect ourselves, I think. You didn’t do that in these because you didn’t expect it,” Cait says.

Niall’s mouth hangs open in shock and he stares at her, she leans down to kiss him and gets up holding his hand and walking back into the living room. She puts his arms around her and she starts to dance with him, resting her head on his shoulder. Niall puts his hands on her waist and pulls her closer to him and leans down and kisses her. 

He tries to put all the emotions he feels towards her into that kiss because she is the woman of his dreams, he is sure of it. His hands dig into her hips because he doesn’t want to ever let go. Then his hand slides up to cup the back of her neck, slowly moving to caress her cheek as they pull away. They stand there a bit staring into each other’s eyes, hearts beating fast. 

“That was nice,” she whispers. 

“Ditto,” he replies. 

Then his phone starts ringing and they pull away, the moment gone. Damn he thinks and when he looks down it is Harry. He cancels the call, but Cait is already carrying dishes to the sink. Niall walks up behind her, kissing her neck. She squirms, giggling as he is tickling her with his lips, but not before she turns around. 

“I don’t want tonight to end, but we have to be up early tomorrow,” she says. “Tonight was lovely and I hope we can do it again.”

“Definitely, so is this like a second date,” Niall asks. 

“Ummm, well those carpet picnics were kind of like dates, I don’t know, I guess so, does it matter?” she says. 

“Well, I want to know so I am aware of our anniversaries, you know, so we are in agreement,” he replies. 

“Anniversaries, I like that sound of that, it means we will be together to celebrate them,” Cait returns. 

“That’s the plan, Boo,” he says. 

They walk to the door, but not before Niall asks if she will send those pictures to him. They kiss goodbye and Niall promises he will be there to pick her up in the morning. 

When Niall returns back to his flat, it feels empty, sterile, void of life. He wants to comfort of Cait’s home, yet up until tonight he loved his place. Now he is missing the comfort of hers. Turning on a few lamps to take the loneliness out of the room, he returns Harry’s call. 

“What’s up Niallers, too busy to respond to my texts and answer the phone now?” Harry asks. 

“I was with Cait, we had dinner in her flat and she showed me around her life,” Niall responded. 

“So, I guess the talk went well then?” Harry says.

“Better than well, she said she has feelings for me, but is worried that when this lock down is over, then this will all go away,” Niall explains.

“That seems valid, she has a point. Will it, I mean will it go away? You lead a completely different life than she does,” Harry says.

“That’s just it, I don’t want it too. I want to be with her, all the time. She is so immune to the fame side of my life. She didn’t even know your name Harry, or the other boys, she didn’t know about my golf. What she asked more about was my family, it was refreshing, you know,” Niall says. 

“What just a minute, she didn’t know me, I am insulted now,” Harry replies indignant.

Niall laughs, “Yeah, she said that she needs to tell you thank you for encouraging me to DM her.” 

“I will hold her to that then, what happened tonight?” Harry says. 

“She made dinner for me and showed me around her place. It was a home, a real home that reveals so much about her. Then there is her photography, I have never seen anything like it, she captured life, you know, like every day moments. She is so modest, won so many medals, but instead of telling me about it, she told me about the basket her niece made that holds them. She has first edition books from her great grand, and a record player, an old soul,” Niall finishes breathlessly. 

“She sounds amazing Niall, hell, based on what you said, I want to meet her. You love her don’t you?” Harry asks.

“I do and I am okay with it too,” Niall says softly. 

“And that is okay,” Harry replies. 

The boys talk some more and then hang up right before he receives a text. He sees the pictures Cait took of him and her comment, “Good night to my Irish God.” 

Niall feels like he is on top of the clouds. This feeling he has is so different than anyone else he has been with and he loves it. 

Before he goes to bed, he texts the pics to Harry. 

“Christ, these are beautiful, she really sees who you are Ni.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall helps Cait pack up her classroom and meets her principal.

Niall picks up Cait bright and early the next day, she hands him a mask and they walk down to the garage deciding to drive. Cait is quiet most of the way and Niall holds her hand, not sure what else to do. 

They arrive at the school and head inside wearing masks. She tells him that she is the only teacher there to practice precautions. It is weird walking down dark corridors to her room. Cait braces herself at the door as she unlocks it and turns on the lights. 

Niall notices that her room is like her home, comfy, warm, inviting, a hug really and it looks ready for students, a room frozen in time. 

“Your room is lovely, Cait, your students are lucky,” Niall says. 

“Thanks, it hard to be here to be honest, but let’s get to work, I am not really prepared for this. We have to clear all the surfaces and pack everything away in my closet,” she explains. 

They get to work, Niall doing what she asks and every once in awhile he hears her sniffle. While he brings items to her, he notices all the pictures of her students and things they have given her. One thing that surprises her is finding out she was Teacher of the Year, she never even mentioned it. He silently brings more awards and plaques over to her as she puts things away. Pretty soon, he hears someone calling her name. Niall is instantly on alert when a man enters her room. 

“Hi Cait, how is it going in here?” he asks. 

“Oh, hi Keith. Not really emotionally prepared for today, but I know it must be done,” she answers. 

Keith looks over to Niall and raises his eyes questioning. 

“Keith, this is Niall, he is ah . . .” she looks at Niall realizing she is not sure what they are, but finishes saying, “. . . a friend. He volunteered to help me today. Niall, this is my administrator.”

Niall waves from across the room, thankful for the mask and says “Nice to meet you, Cait has spoken fondly of you.” 

“Thanks for helping Cait today, she is a good one,” Keith says nodding to Niall. 

“Yeah, yeah she is,” Niall responds. 

Keith leaves and the two finish up, but before they leave, Cait goes to sit at her desk looking over her room for a moment. Niall watches her, becoming alarmed when she suddenly bursts into tears. 

“Oh Cait, a chroi*, what is it?” he asks coming over to her. 

“This,” she swings her arm around. “This is not how I wanted it to end, I didn’t even get to say goodbye to them, didn’t get to hear whether Kasey got that scholarship, did Jack get into his dream school, so many experiences lost, I am just not ready,” she finishes. 

Niall gathers her in his arms, kissing her head. 

“It’s silly, I have will new students next year, but this is it for this year. Packing up my room without closure really makes me realize how real this all is, it just hits at different times, ya’ know,” she says with tears running down her face. 

At that moment, Niall realizes Cait is so much better than him, how giving she is of herself; she makes such a difference in so many children’s lives. He sings, he shares his talent, but it is not the same thing. Her heart is so big and she has made space for him in it, he is the lucky one. 

He puts his hands on either side of her face and lightly brushes the tears from her face, looking her in the eyes, “we will get through this, we have each other and it will be okay. I don’t know when, but we will. Let’s go, I will make you some lunch.”

Cait nods her head and gathers her things, looking around one last time and locks the door. They head back to their flat. 

“Thank you,” she says. 

“No problem, it was nice to see where you work, see your classroom,” he says. 

“No, thank YOU for being my support system through this, it, it really means a lot,” Cait says. 

“You know, you introduced me as your friend to your principal, but I would be okay if you introduced me as your boyfriend if you want,” Niall says bringing her hand to his mouth for a kiss. 

“Is that what you are? So does that mean I am your girlfriend?” she asks. 

Niall nods, Cait smiles and says, “That sounds nice.” 

Arriving back at their flat, they shower and agree to meet at Niall’s for the promised lunch. They eat on the couch, not talking much. Cait looks so snuggly in her day pajamas as she calls them. He can tell she is tired from the day. 

A little while later she says, “Ni, will you play something for me?”

“Sure love, anything special” he asks. 

“Whatever inspires you,” she replies. 

Niall hasn’t really played live for her, just strumming and humming melodies. This time, he wants to make her smile and forget about this morning. Without thinking, he starts strumming “You and I” and singing quietly while she lays there, snuggled under a blanket looking at him. He gets lost in the chorus and when he finishes, he looks up and she is asleep, smiling without realizing it. A feeling of protectiveness comes over him as he looks over at her and he grabs his phone and takes a picture of her. 

Niall sits there contemplatively thinking about a life with Cait, imagining what could be. 

Every moment, every situation, every experience he wants to share with her and he sees her by his side. It feels right, he wants this, more than winning X Factor or being in one of the biggest bands in the world. He would give all that up for her if he had too. 

Lost in his thoughts, he is stunned with where they went, but not in a bad way. He walks over to her, lightly brushing a hair from her face and leans over to kiss her forehead silently whispering, “I love you.” She sighs in her sleep and snuggles into the couch some more and he covers her. 

Grabbing his notebook, he heads over to his balcony and starts writing, something he has not felt compelled to do since everything started. He wants to put his feelings down because right now everything feels right. 

Before he knows it, he feels a hand on his shoulder and Cait is smiling down at him looking cute with signs of sleep still on her face. 

“Hi,” she says. 

“Hey, Boo,” he says.

“Sorry about that, didn’t mean to fall asleep on you,” Cait says.

“No worries, you were tired. It’s been an emotional day. Come here,” Niall requests.

Cait curls up on his lap and lays her head on his shoulder. 

“Stay tonight, please,” Niall asks quietly. Cait sits up and looks at him with confusion on her face. 

“Nothing has to happen, just stay with me tonight, I want to wake up with you next to me. Let me take care of you tonight, please,” Niall says. 

Cait nods her head and smiles at him and Niall would give up everything at that moment to be with her. 

*love


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall tells his mum and the boys about Cait.

That night was not the only night that Cait spent the night. After waking up the next morning in each other’s arms and sharing morning kisses, Cait stayed over the next night too. Then, Niall stayed at her flat. Wherever they ended up at the end of the day, is where they stayed. This went all for a few weeks to where it became routine. They even had toothbrushes at each other’s now. 

Niall and Cait worked throughout the day, her, distance teaching and he staying relevant on Instagram, playing live streams, answering fans questions, doing interviews and collabs with other artists. Everything was a little more bearable knowing he would see her every day. Sometimes, she even brought her work up to his flat and they worked side by side, those were the best days. 

Niall messaged with his mates almost daily and they all wanted to meet Cait. He had not even shared a picture of her thinking that if he shared her with people, she would no longer be his. They were in this protective bubble and he didn’t want it to burst. He was always careful to do his livestreams when she was not there because one day, he looked around his flat noticing signs of her in different places. From one of her mugs on his counter, to some flowers she brought up one day. One of her quilts was over the couch and a sweatshirt of hers was on a chair. His bachelor pad, was showing signs of a female influence. Hell, he even gave her space in his closet to have some clothes here. These things just fit and he liked it, but he wanted to keep it to himself. He wanted to be selfish. 

One night, after a month of them “living” with each other and Cait in her flat, Niall rang his mum, deciding it was time to tell her about Cait. His mum was surprised at first, but commented that she knew something was different because Niall was happier. He explained how they met and shared a picture of the two of them from the other night. 

“Oh Niall, she is lovely, what a bright lass,” his mum says. “Can we meet her?” 

“As soon as this is over, I want to fly home, I will ask her if she wants to come,” Niall says. 

“Nonsense, that would make her nervous, we will come to you, I want to get out of here anyway, we will all fly over as soon as we can. I'm happy for you a stor*, she sounds perfect for you, but what about the other you? Have you talked to her about that?” his mum asks. 

Niall shares what they have talked about and explains they are going to see what happens, but he hopes that she is not frightened by it all. They hang up and Niall decides to text the boys as well.

He sends a pic of the two of them with a caption, “So this happened.” 

Of course, it starts ringing right away, Liam calling. 

“Hey mate, nice of you to finally share, we have all been wondering what this mystery girl looks like,” Liam says. 

“Yeah, we thought maybe you made her up Neil,” Louis says. 

It’s then that Niall pulls his phone away and sees he is on a conference call with the guys. 

“Hey everyone, thought it was time to make it official, she is my girlfriend” Niall says. 

“She is lovely, Ni, you look so happy with her,” Harry says. “I agree,” Zayn adds. 

“Thanks lads, I have never felt like this with anyone before, she just fits, perfectly. I told me mum too,” he says.

“That’s big, Niallers. How did dear old mum take it?” Louis asks.

“She kind of already suspected something, so it didn’t come as a surprise really, she wants to meet her when this is over,” Niall answers. 

“Are you sure this still isn’t a product of the situation?” Liam asks. 

“No, I don’t think so and even if it is, so what? I met her boss, when I helped pack up her classroom. She is so modest, she was teacher of the year and didn’t say anything, she is really big in the swim and running world, been in magazines, done workshops, all that, but I had to learn it when I found some of the magazines in her flat. She has this whole other life too, but it doesn’t define her.”

Niall goes on to explain that they have been staying in each other’s flats and working together. 

“Really, and?” Louis asks. 

Knowing what he really is asking, Niall is honest, “We haven’t done what you are asking, I mean, sure I want to, but we are taking it slow, taking cues from each other and I am really okay with it. I respect it really.”

“That is commendable,” Liam says. 

“I have also been writing, she inspires me. I have enough for another album. She is so different than anyone I have ever met, so pure. She only knows the private me, the one you all know, not the public. She doesn’t really go on social media or read the rags. It is refreshing really.”

“How is she going to fit in with your tour, the reunion and such?” Louis asks. 

“I don’t know, we haven’t talked about it, not really there yet. I am kind of working on a plan. Thinking of scheduling the concert dates to allow me to have a life, a balance for once. For the first time since this crazy journey started, touring and playing are not my first priority.”

“Ni, mate, I don’t know how to break it to ya’, but that is what love does, you adjust your priorities,” Zayn says. 

The other boys chime in as well and Niall ponders that. It really is true for him. 

“But that is okay, there is more to life than our careers. You know Lou’s and my rule, it works because we make our relationship the priority,” Harry says. 

“Don’t let the fans hear you say that Haz,” Niall says. 

“Wow, who would have thunk that our Niallers wants to slow down. This is new coming from ya’, dating a commoner. What about the other side of you, does she know about your houses, cars, golf team, your money?” Louis asks. 

“Simmer down Lou, are you not listening to what he is saying, he is in love, none of that really matters,” Harry pipes up. 

“Actually Lou, she knows about everything, and when it comes to money, she is big on taking turns paying for things. She says she can provide for herself. I have tried to give her a few things, but she gets upset. Hell, she lives on a teacher’s salary and she has bought the groceries more often than I have. It’s weird, she even said she has no concept of Niall Horan, famous person, just Niall, a guy in her building. She has her own career, life, reputation that she has built, really, it’s me that would complicate her life more than anything. Sometimes, I think I am the commoner,” Niall says. 

“It sounds like she is perfect, Ni, can we meet her. Maybe do a Facetime or Zoom thing and she can meet our girls, keep it relaxed until we can meet her in person?” Zayn asks. 

“I don’t see why not, let me ask her,” Niall responds. 

“I am really happy for you Ni, sorry if I upset you, but I don’t want you to get hurt,” Louis says. 

“I echo that,” Liam adds. 

“No worries guys, I know you all still look out for me, but really I am good, better than I have been in awhile,” Niall responds. 

After that, they boys talk some more and eventually hang up. Niall understands where they are coming from, but if they could just see her, meet her, he knows they will get it. There is always that chance with any relationship that they are there for the wrong reasons, but with Cait, Niall thinks that is so far from the truth. It is like he needs her more than she needs him. Cait is so fiercely independent that it almost scary. Does she have room in her life for him? 

*my love


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cait talks to Niall's mum and Zooms with the boys. More fluffiness ensues.

Cait comes to breakfast the next day and starts getting ready to going into work mode. 

“So, I told me mum about us last night,” Niall casually says. 

“Oh,” Cait responds almost as a question. 

“She wants to meet you, she plans to fly in when this is over. I told her you were me girlfriend,” Niall hesitantly says. 

“Oh.” 

“I also shared a pic with her and the boys, told them and they want to meet you as well,” Niall adds. 

“Oh.” 

“Are you okay with that, we haven’t really spoken about telling other people,” Niall hurriedly adds. 

“Umm.” Cait mutters walking over to Niall who is looking at her nervously. 

“So, what do you think?” Niall asks. 

“What did they say?” Cait finally asks quietly. 

“What do you mean?” Niall asks, a little shook at Cait’s behavior. 

“Did they seem okay with it, I mean what if they don’t like me?” Cait asks. 

“Cait, they all can’t wait to meet you. From the way I talk about you, they want to meet the woman that stole my heart,” Niall says as he places his hand under Cait’s chin and kissing her nose. “They are just worried about me, because of who I am, the famous me. They want to make sure you are not with me for my money and fame.”

“Oh, really now,” she laughs. “I get it, I would be worried too. It’s valid really, but to be honest, I have no concept of that side of you other than your flat is nicer than mine and you drive a Range Rover and I drive a Mini Cooper.” She smiles at Niall and kisses his nose. 

“Well, there is that,” Niall says with a smile. 

“To be honest, I told my parents and best mates too. Their concern is the opposite. They think that the moment this is over and we get on with our lives that you will drop me for one of those sexy movie stars,” she says. 

“WHAT?” Niall practically yells taking a step back. “I would never.”

“Ni, think about it, their concern is just as valid. I assured them, but they only know the famous you,” Cait says. 

“That’s fair and I don’t know how it is going to go when the real world comes, but what I do not for certain is that when I think of the future, you are right there beside me,” Niall says as he pulls her in for a hug. 

“There is no place I would rather be and yes, I am okay with meeting your friends, but you will have to meet mine as well,” Cait responds with a wink. 

The two of them start working and are off in their own little worlds, Niall at the piano and Cait on her laptop. After a little while, Cait looks up and watches Niall. She has watched him work before. She finds herself smiling, she really loves this man and wants to do everything she can to make him happy, then an idea occurs to her. 

“Ni, could I have your mum’s number, I would like to call her, would you be okay with that?” Cait asks. 

“What luv?” Niall responds breaking out of his zone. 

“Can I have your mum’s number; I want to talk to her. She has concerns, I hope maybe if we spoke, it would calm some fears,” Cait replies. 

The warmth that has been taking up residence in Niall’s chest, gets that much warmer with that statement. Could he love her even more? The answer is yes. 

“Yes, I think she would love that, let me text her,” Niall says. 

Maura responds with an immediately yes and heart emojis. Niall rolls his eyes. 

“She would love to talk to you,” Niall says. 

“I am done for the day, share her number. I am going to go down to my flat to call her and we can talk about the man we both love,” Cait says as she winks. 

She comes over and kisses Niall. When she goes to pull away, Niall holds her tighter. They are both straddling the piano bench now. He leans down to kiss her again and gradually opens up her mouth more. Cait groans and relaxes into him. His hands start to wander as he kisses down her jawline and then in her sweet spot behind her ear. He moves his hands under her shirt and goes to cup her breast, kissing her again on the mouth. 

Cait sighs and responds to his touch and then Niall’s phone goes off. They ignore it, but it goes off again. Niall reluctantly breaks off the kiss and looks at Cait with kiss touched red lips, a flush on her cheeks and her eyes closed. He has never wanted to continue something more in his life, but his phone dings again and he says he needs to get that. Cait’s eyes pop open and she sits there as Niall checks his phone. He rolls his eyes and shows her the screen. 

It’s from Maura. 

“Did you give her my number?”  
“She hasn’t called yet, did you type it wrong?”  
“Niall, why are you not responding?”

Cait smiles and says “I better go, I am sure that will not be the last time your mother interrupts us.”

Cock blocked by his mum and she is in another country, all Niall can do is roll his eyes and walk Cait to the door. 

“Wish me luck,” she says.

“You won’t need it, she will love you,” he says.

Once Cait leaves, Niall feels the need for a run, but not before he texts the group chat what is going on. 

“Your funeral,” Louis responds. 

He says a quick prayer that he still has a girlfriend after this and heads out. 

When he returns, he sees a text from his mum, “Marry her” is all it says. 

He guesses the call went well, he thinks with a smile and texts the boys his mum’s response. 

Niall heads down for dinner at Cait’s place and gets take out since he feels like he should apologize for his mum. 

When he sees her, she has the biggest smile on her face. 

“I love your mum; no, I adore her. She is lovely, Ni. Now I know where you get your charm,” Cait says.

“So, I guess it went well?” he asks. 

“I think so, we talked for over two hours. There is a lot you don’t tell me and we are working side by side, like some donations to Irish charities, you have been holding out on me. She is so proud of you.”

“I didn’t think it mattered, you know, it is just something I did because I could,” he answers. 

“Just when I think you can’t be any better, how did I get so lucky?” she says with a big smile as she hugs him. 

“Did you ever think, I am the lucky one?” he asks. 

They settle down to the table and Niall asks her, “since this went so well with me mum, would you feel up to maybe meeting the guys? We could call them or do a Zoom thing or something. They really want to meet you and I want you to meet them. We could sit there together.”

“Hell, why not? I do need to thank Harry.” 

Niall texts the guys and ask if they would be up for something tonight. After dinner, Niall gets his laptop and they sit together at the table. 

“Are you nervous, luv?” 

“Yeah, I think I am. What if they don’t like me?” 

“Then, that is their loss,” he says as he kisses her on the nose right as their video connects. 

“Hey, hey, this is a family show, none of that here,” comes from Harry. 

Cait is blushing so hard, but she sucks it up and says, “Hi guys, I’m Cait.” 

And just like that, they are all talking. Niall is holding Cait’s hand under the table and he gives it a squeeze occasionally to be reassuring. Whether it is to reassure him or her is anyone’s guess. 

His boys are asking her questions and she is answering, but she is asking questions right back. Niall can’t even get a word in edgewise, but he is the topic of lots of questions. The neatest thing for him is that she is asking about the boys’ families, where they are from, what they like to do, who they really are. Never once does the band come up unless it is in the telling of a story about Niall. Lou and her talk footie, Harry and her cooking, with Zayn they discussed art and with Liam they talked boxing. Niall had no idea she even liked the sport. She held her own with each. The most surprising thing to come out of it was discovering Cait was in the Olympic Trials for swimming, it was Lou who knew. He looks at Cait and then at the camera not hiding his shock.

“What, I Googled her, I need to make sure she wasn’t crazy, Ni.” 

Cait laughed and said, “I’m not crazy, except for maybe being with this guy.”

All Niall could do was shake his head. He leans over and whispers to Cait, “You have been holding out on me.” 

“Touche,” she whispers back.

They all continue to talk and Niall sits back and watches in awe. Can he fall even more in love, apparently so and by the expressions on the boys faces, they are as well. 

Niall finally breaks it up and asks if they are going to play a game, but the boys boo him and want to keep talking with Cait. Seeing where he ranks, he stands to clean up dinner and wanders around her flat, half way listening and loving when Cait laughs in response to something, which seems to be almost everything. 

His phone buzzes and he sees a text from Harry, “She is everything you said and more<3, you did good.” 

“I know,” he replies. 

Just then, he sees a picture on the end table. It is the one Cait took that night on the balcony of him. He didn’t know why but he thought the cards are falling in the right spot as he looks at the picture and back at her sitting at the table. About 30 minutes later, he hears Cait wrap it up. 

“Boys, it has been such a pleasure talking to you all. Harry, I need to especially thank you for encouraging Niall, he is a very special person to me and I want you all to know I would never hurt him. And Lou, I am going to hold you to a footie match, so you better watch out,” Cait says. 

Niall walks over and waves at the boys and they all say their goodbyes and sign off. 

“Whew,” Cait sighs out loud relaxing her shoulders. 

Niall stands behind her massaging the tension out of them. “You did great luv, they adore you.”

“You think so?” Cait says as she leans back into Niall enjoying her massage. 

“I know so, look.” 

Niall shows her Harry’s text message and the three others that came in since they signed off. 

“You got a hell of a spitfire there, she is a doll,” Louis texts.

“How did you find a girl that likes boxing, footie but not golf, only you Ni. I love her,” Liam’s says.

“Only the loveliest gal, for one of the best mates I know, she is a charmer,” Zayn’s reads. 

“I don’t know how you do it, but that is high praise coming from the likes of them,” Niall says. 

“You are so lucky to have them in your life, thank you for sharing them with me. They love you,” Cait says. 

Niall goes to hug her, but she stops him. “Nope, don’t stop. You owe me a massage for all that. I feel like I have put through the ringer. That ranks up there with one of the hardest things I have ever done,” she says. “First your mom and now your best mates, I feel like I have been through the toughest job interview.”

He just laughs, picks her up and carries her to the bedroom saying “You and I need to talk, you are holding out on me.”

“Later, I want my massage and bed,” she says with a smile.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cait gets hurt, Niall is not okay.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts. I rewrote this three times. Also, thinking of a part three to the series. Drop me a comment.

It is the end of May and Cait is done teaching for the year. Niall watches with a sad heart when she Zooms with her students for the last time saying goodbye. When she hangs up, she sits there with tears rolling down her face, frozen in time. After taking a deep breath, she wipes her face and announces she is going for a run. 

“I’m going to go for a long run, need an attitude adjustment,” she says. 

Niall wants to go with her, but he can’t. He has to call in for an interview and a meet over reunion details. “Just please be careful and take your phone with you,” he states. 

“Always Boo,” she replies and kisses him on the head. 

Niall watches her leave and thinks back to the last six weeks. He has spoken with both her parents now, met her best friends. That was an experience to be sure. He expected some fangirling and it was fun because Cait was embarrassed by it. Once they got over him being him, they asked some of the hardest interview questions he has ever been asked and then they went into protective mama bears. Cait gave him a nice backrub after that one, it was only fair. 

Wednesday nights became game nights with the boys, their girls and them, Friday for her friends and boyfriends and Sunday with their families. She worked, he did his work and she helped him with some lyrics when he asked, he helped her with school lesson ideas when she did. She even helped him with his “Black and White” video. He figured it was only right since she loves the song. They partnered together really well and the greatest thing was that they could get to know each other without the public scrutiny. 

They fell into a rhythm, but one prevailing question he could not answer was what would happen when the world opened back up? Where the cards fall . . . right?

Cait seemed to take everything in stride when he was doing interviews or livestreaming with someone famous. She would ask who with and then her eyes would go wide, she would shake her head and then go on with what she was doing, not saying anything else. She loved to watch the interviews from his end, enjoying the small talk and the bloopers, laughing at funny bits. She never distracted him, except that one time when she walked by in her bra and panties to the kitchen. They had to do some editing with that. The nerve of her, he thought as he let out a chuckle. Cheeky girl. Later, she said she wanted to make sure he was staying grounded, not getting caught up in being famous; keeping his priorities in order. God bless the woman!

Niall shook himself from his thoughts, thankful that she is in his life and became lost in his work. It is the sound of thunder that cause him to look up two hours later, realizing Cait is not back yet. He checks his cell, no texts. He calls her, no answer. They haven’t really been away from each other, except for occasional errands or work outs, but they always answer if one happens to call; kind of an unspoken rule they have. 

By now, it is really raining and with another clap of thunder, the lights flicker and then go out. Niall has this feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach, he knows something is wrong. He doesn’t know how he knows, but this goes against his predictable, cautious Cait. 

Niall redials her number after his texts say undeliverable. He gets a busy signal and starts pacing, the feeling in his stomach hasn’t gone away. So many scenarios were going through his head as he paces back and forth. 

The lights flicker back on and he texts her again and sees it marked “delivered,” and then “read.” He impatiently watches the three dots waiting for a response to his question when his phone rings.

“Cait?” he answers frantically. “Please tell me you are okay.” 

“Yeah, I am so sorry for worrying you. I went running, lost track of time and got stranded in the storm. Then I lost signal,” she says, but there is something in her voice that is worrying him. “I um, need you to come pick me up.” 

“Sure, luv, share your location with me, where are you?” he asks as he grabs his keys. 

“I am at a little café, they let me come in and take shelter and . . .” she cuts off. 

Then he hears her breathing hitch and that feeling in the pit of his stomach makes itself known again. 

“Are you okay? You sound hurt,” he asks. 

“No, no, I am good, just overdid it, can you please come pick me up?” she says with a strained voice. 

“Sure, I am leaving now,” Niall says, hanging up. He lets out an exasperated sigh when he sees where she is, over 12 miles away from their flat. Good God, Cait, he thinks. 

When he pulls up outside the café, the owner is there to greet him at the door and shocks Niall when he says, “Sir, she was hit by a car, crossing the street. I saw it happen. The car sped away and I went out to help her, got her in here,” he said. 

Niall looks frantically for Cait and the sight that meets him, makes him startle is fright. 

“What the hell, Cait, what happened?” he all but screams as he runs over to her sitting at a table. 

“Ni, I am okay, just a little beaten up, I look worse than I am, really,” she says. 

“The hell you say, have you seen yourself? We need to call an ambulance,” he says. 

“No, I’ll be fine,” Cait says rather firmly. 

“She wouldn’t let me, sir. She wanted to wait until you came,” the shop owner says. 

“Did she lose consciousness?” Niall asks. 

“No, I didn’t,” Cait says. 

She has a bleeding cut on her brow where she is holding a towel, scrapes everywhere, ripped leggings showing skinned and bloody knees, while her arm is pressing to her side. He doesn’t know where to look first and is terribly worried seeing bruises start to form. 

Niall kneels down next to her, “Cait, we need to get you checked out, please let me call an ambulance.”

“No, Niall. I don’t want to go to A and E, they won’t let you go with me. I walked in here on my own, please take me home,” she pleads quietly. 

Niall can’t ignore the fear in her voice and he can’t say no to her. He doesn’t want to be separated from her either. He runs his hands over her assessing the damage himself, mindful of where she flinches. Frowning more and more and plans to call in a favor. 

“Okay, I will take you home, but on one condition. I am calling a doctor to come and examine you, no arguments,” he says. 

Cait nods and Niall notices her lips are in a tight line and she is controlling her breathing. 

“Thank you so much for helping her, sir. I owe you a debt of gratitude,” Niall says to the owner. 

“Not a problem sir, it was amazing to see actually. It looked right out of a movie, it all happened in slow motion. I was shocked when she got up on her own. She is a tough lass, she is,” the owner says. 

“I am beginning to realize that,” Niall responds. Now, looking at Cait, “Can you walk?”

“Yeah, help me up,” she says. 

He does as she asks, but can’t help, but cringe at the painful noise that escapes her. Niall gingerly puts his arms around her and helps her walk to his car. After getting her situated, he is pulling away and is totally gutted to see her holding herself so stiffly, trying to muffle her painful grunts. 

Niall grabs her hand and tells her to squeeze the pain away and she looks at him. 

“I am so sorry I scared you, Boo. I wasn’t meaning to,” she says. 

“I know, Luv. I was just so worried when you didn’t pick up and then the power went down. You typically are not out that long, scared me, I knew something had happened,” Niall says squeezing her hand. 

“I was fine, I knew I wanted a long run to clear my mind . . Ahhh, that one hurt,” she said as Niall drove over a bump. It took her a moment and some deep breathing until she continued. “It started to rain and then the thunder, saw a place to take shelter and as I went to cross the street, the driver was not paying attention, ran the light. I braced myself for impact and tried to lessen the damage. When I landed, I assessed the damage until the man came and helped me. Once I got in the café, I couldn’t call you. I was more upset that I knew you were worried, than being hurt.”

God, this woman was going to be the death of him. 

“Let me get you home and I will get you cleaned up and we are going to have a conversation about long runs. Who the hell goes 12 miles?” Niall says trying to lighten the mood. 

Niall ended up carrying Cait up to his flat and gingerly set her down on the kitchen chair. Then, he called his doctor who makes house calls and explained the situation. He promised he would be right over. 

He dries her off and helps her out of her shirt, starting to clean the cuts and bandage where necessary, not being able to hide his shaky hands. 

“Ni, I’m okay,” Cait says as she grabs his hand and brings it to her cheek. “Stop fretting.”

He stops and stares into her eyes. The intrinsic need to protect is so strong and then kill whoever hit her. “I was so scared, Cait, I’m going to need a bit,” he whispers. 

The doorbell rings and Niall greets Dr. Taylor, thanking him profusely for coming and explains the situation as he brings her over to Cait. 

They exchange pleasantries and the doctor starts his examination. 

“Did you hit your head?” he asks.

“No, at least I don’t think so. I jumped up onto the hood, hit the windscreen on my left side, then rolled off and landed on my left side again. My elbow was between me and my ribs when I landed. I tried my best to shield my head,” Cait explains. 

Dr. Taylor and Niall look shell shocked and speechless at this admission. 

“The car wasn’t going that fast and unfortunately, being a runner, this isn’t my first time being hit,” she explains. 

Dr. Taylor shakes his head while Niall wrings his hands, not happy with the idea that Cait was hurt before. The doctor puts some butterfly plasters on her brow and checked her head and eyes. 

“It looks like you may have slight concussion, nothing too concerning. Have you been dizzy at all?” 

“No, most pain is from my side and my elbow,” Cait responds and Niall can see the bruising already. 

“Let’s stand you up, I need to lay you down on the bed,” he says. 

Niall helps her to the bed and tries not to hover, holding her hand. As Dr. Taylor presses down across her ribs, Cait screams out and tears leak out of her eyes. She squeezes Niall’s hand and his heart breaks. He hates seeing her like this. 

“Hold on Cait, I know it hurts. I’m almost done,” Dr. Taylor murmurs as his hands move quick and efficiently. 

When he finishes, Cait is silent with tears streaming down her face and her eyes tightly shut. Niall rubs her hand and brings it to his lips murmuring reassurances. 

“The good news is her ribs are badly bruised along with her elbow, no fractures. She will be moving slowly for a bit, but will get better soon. I have some pain killers for tonight that will allow her to sleep and heal and tomorrow night switch her over to these others. Keep ice on the ribs and elbow as well. Any vomiting or dizziness, call me immediately, but she should be fine,” Dr. Taylor finishes. 

“Thank you,” Cait says softly. 

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate you coming over,” Niall says as he walks Dr. Taylor to the door.

“You got a strong one there, Niall, glad I could help,” Dr. Taylor says and he takes his leave and Niall walks back into the bedroom. 

“Cait, luv, let’s get you changed and into something more comfortable,” Niall says. 

Cait just nods as Niall grabs her favorite pajamas and he helps her out of her clothes. Brings her ice packs, makes her some tea and gets some food in her so she can take her pills. She doesn’t say much, but painful sighs escape. 

Once she is settled in bed, she grabs his hand and says, “Thank you for taking care of me, I’m sorry to be such a problem.”

“You aren’t luv, don’t say that. I’m so glad it wasn’t worse. You were lucky,” Niall says.

Niall stays with her until she falls asleep, putting pillows around her to make sure she doesn’t roll unto her side and to keep him from snuggling with her. When she is out, he stands, carefully rubbing the bruises on her face, as if willing his love to heal her and that’s when he loses control. The tears leak out and he thinks all the different ways this could have gone. Taking a deep breath, he needs to call him mum and cancel his show tonight and activities tomorrow.

His texts his manager telling her there has been an accident with a close friend and he is taking care of them and she needs to cancel his showings for tonight and the next two days. Thankfully, she doesn’t question only expresses concern. They he calls his mum. 

The moment he hears her voice, he starts crying trying to get out what happened. Maura finally gets him to calm down after some time, being reassuring and suggesting things to help Cait, wishing she could be there to help take care of her. 

“A stór, I am so sorry she was injured, but she took care of herself until you got there. She is so strong, now tell me why you are really crying?” Maura says. 

“Umm, I just hate to see her in pain, then my mind jumps that I could have lost her, then I feel like I couldn’t protect her,” Niall says. 

“But why?” she asks. 

Niall is silent and his mum can hear him breathing. Finally, she hears an “Ooh, ooooh.” 

“Niall, what is it?” Maura asks.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with her,” Niall says shakily. 

“That’s my boy. One only feels those things when they are so deeply in love that imagining a person not by their side is scarier. The need to protect is so strong and the thought of harm coming to one you love is so frightening that you can’t control your emotions. It is what happens when you find your Anam Cara* and I think you have,” his mum says. 

“You think so?” he asks. 

“I know so A stór, and I think you do too,” his mum says. “Think about it, what an unlikely story of how you met, she has no concept of the famous you. This pandemic has provided you two the opportunity to meet each other without the trappings of the outside world. That is a gift, a blessing and from what I see in Cait, she is up to meeting your outside world. The question may be are you up to meeting hers?” 

Niall talks some more with his mum and needs some time to think over what she said. She is right, of course, but he needs to shelve the thoughts and check on Cait. He doesn’t’ want to scare Cait or move too fast, but he knows what he wants and that is to be with her no matter what. 

Niall finds Cait passed out to the world, quietly thankful that she doesn’t look in pain. He checks her bandages and lifts her shirt to make sure there is no bleeding or dark bruising the doctor warned him about and removes the ice packs. After a quick meal, he joins her in sleep. 

*Irish word for soulmate


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cait wakes up, but not before Niall has some questions about soulmates.

Cait sleeps through the night and most of the next day. She occasionally moans in her sleep, causing Niall to sit up and make sure she is resting as peacefully as possible. He gets up several times to check her bandages, her temperature and apply ice packs, but she never wakes. 

By noon the next day, Niall calls Dr. Taylor to make sure it is okay she is sleeping that much. He reassures Niall that she is healing. That may be true, but it is worrisome. She is never that still whether awake or asleep, he doesn’t like it. Niall wants to see her smile, hear her contagious laughter.

For fear of hurting her or waking her up, Niall pulls a chair up by her bedside and tries to do some work, but mostly just watches her. 

He recalls his conversation last night with his mum, remembering how Cait and him first became aware of each other, the time they have spent together, learning about each other. Hell, they practically live together and for some reason, he is okay with that. Soul mates – could it be? That is pretty heavy stuff, but one thing he knows for certain, without a doubt, he loves Cait and wants to grow old with her. He can only hope she feels the same way. 

Knowing two people that he considers soulmates; he decides to call them. 

“What’s the craic, Niallers?” Haz says when he answers. 

“Hey Haz, is Lou nearby? I need to talk to you both,” Niall asks. 

“Oi, Neil, how goes it? Lou asks once they are on speaker.

“Well, um, Cait was in a hit and run yesterday while she was out jogging . . .” Niall starts to say. 

“Wait, what? Is she okay? Where is she? What can we do?” the boys ask simultaneously, very concerned. 

“She’s home, in bed with some heavy painkillers in her system. She got lucky, bruised ribs, elbow, scratched herself up pretty good. My doc came see her because she didn’t’ want to go to the hospital. God, guys, it was one of the scariest things I have ever been through,” Niall says not hiding the anguish in his voice. 

“Are you okay?” Harry asks. 

“Yes, no, God, I don’t know . . . it’s like I knew something bad had happened. I could feel it, ya’ know. When I couldn’t reach her because of the storm, I panicked. She finally called me and didn’t even tell me she was hurt, only she needed a ride. This woman! She won’t even consider a hospital and do you know what she did? She said she saw the car coming, so she braced herself and jumped up on the hood and then rolled off. Who even does that? Then she has the audacity to tell the doctor, ‘oh, it’s happened before, it comes with running,’” Niall mimics her. “I can tell she is hurting, but she tells ME not to worry and then when the doctor examines her ribs, she screams. The sound broke my heart. I almost punched the doc, As ucht Dé!*” Niall finishes. 

“Would you have expected anything less from Cait?” Harry asks.

“Haz is right, she can take care of herself. I’m so sorry this happened to her and to you, but thankful you were to help her and it wasn’t worse. I don’t think I’ve seen ya’ this torn up though about any other girl you dated,” Louis says. 

“Yeah, that’s kind of why I called. I broke down late last night and called mum. She said I felt the way I did because Cait is my Anam Cara, umm, my soulmate,” Niall finishes softly. 

He is waiting for the laughter and jibs, but all he hears are the boys breathing so he continues. 

“When, me mum said that, it kind of clicked. Lads, I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I can’t explain it, there is this feeling, like anything I do, anything I have to face, I want her there,” Niall says and then takes a big breath before continuing. “That’s why I am really calling. You both say your each other’s soulmates and I believe it from being around you. I think I found mine, but is this real or am I a right eejit?”

The boys are silent and processing all Niall has said, finally Harry answers “Yeah, Ni, I think it is real. It took her getting hurt for you to realize it, but Lou and I have spoken about you two a lot. We haven’t seen you together in person, but in our hangouts, watching you two interact, it’s obvious.”

“But we have only known each other three months,” Niall says. 

“And I only knew Harry for 30 seconds in that bathroom and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Love has no time stamp; it is what it is and things will play out how it is supposed to. You are at an advantage really,” Louis says. 

“How so?” Niall asks, already is feeling validated and relieved from talking to his mates.

“You had three months to get to know her and she you without the outside world there. No schedules, no interruptions, no meet ups or world tours. You and her in a cocoon. That doesn’t happen. She is the music to your lyrics, she makes you come alive,” Louis says. “And Ni, you should see your face. You look at her as if she hangs the moon. We both knew it was only a matter of time, really. 

“Besides, what are the chances that she would join your live, respond to your DM, you all talk, she lives in the same building and then you two end up together. That’s movie worthy right there,” Harry says. 

“Thanks lads, it means a lot to hear that from you. I needed to know I’m not crazy. Never would I have thought I would fall head over heels in love with someone like her. She is the opposite of everyone I’ve ever dated,” Niall says. 

“Well, you’re still crazy. And so what if she is the opposite, that is a good thing. I’m really happy for you Ni, you deserve this. Only you could come out of a pandemic with a girlfriend. What even is your life?” Louis says. 

“How are you going to tell her?” Harry asks. 

“How do you tell someone that, I know how I feel, but she may not reciprocate. I think I’m going to have to show her she is always my priority no matter what,” Niall says. 

“There you go, do you need anything from us,” Harry asks. 

“Na, we’re good. Really, thank you guys,” Niall says. 

Feeling loads better, Niall hangs up and checks on Cait. He knows what he wants, but what is he doing to about it? Moreover, does she feel the same way? 

Pain, pain everywhere is the first thing that hits Cait’s brain when she wakes up. She must have made a noise because she hears Niall call her name quietly. She tries to control her breathing before she opens her eyes and feels it ease somewhat. Ni’s voice acts as an anchor for her and also reminds her why she is feels like absolute shite. 

Cait opens her eyes finally and finds Niall staring at her with concern etched in his brow. 

“Hey,” she says.

“Hi luv, how you feeling?”

“I’ve been better, what time is it?” 

“Little past four, those meds really knocked you out. Can you get up, you need to eat and I want to check your bandages?”

“Help me up, I need the loo.” 

Niall helps her up, wincing when he hears her breath catch from the pain. He waits outside while she does her business.

“Oh, right fuck!” He hears and is through the door before she can say anything else. 

“What? What is it? Talk to me,” he all but shouts. 

“Look at me, I saw myself in the mirror, I’m a right mess, ugh. I really stepped in it this time, didn’t I?” she says. 

Niall walks over to her now that he knows she is okay, grabs a flannel, wets it and starts to clean her face, smiling down at her. “You are my mess, my beautiful mess,” he says. 

“I guess this card did not fall in the right place.” 

“Only the English teacher would make a metaphor out of this.”

“Maybe that is the metaphor for our relationship, we took a chance, just like a card game and looks where it’s gotten us.”

“You mean, you hurt and me taking care of you?”

“Well, yeah, but I meant the other parts. I kind of like you taking care of me though.” 

“You do, do you?” Niall asks with a smile, kissing her nose. 

“When I got hit, the only thing going through my head were thoughts of you. I knew you would be scared, upset, angry, even. But at the same time, I wanted you, I wanted you so badly to comfort me, to make it better. Then I felt guilty because I didn’t want to be a bother.”

“Oh luv, I know it was scary, I got there as soon as I could and you are never a bother.”

“No, Ni, you don’t get what I am saying. My father raised me to never depend on someone else,” Cait says as she puts her hand on Niall’s face. “Even with my other boyfriend, I had this shield up. With you, it’s different, over these weeks, you have slowly been chipping away at my shield and for the first time in my life, I feel completely safe with someone. I want to let you in, to share things with you.” 

Niall listens to what she is saying and realizing he is getting his answer. The joy her words give him is off the charts. 

“That’s what I want with you too,” he says.

Niall leans down to kiss her, pulling her close to him until he hears her catch her breath.

“Oh, crap, luv, I’m sorry. Did I hurt you? Leave it to me to take a sweet moment and ruin it.”

She chuckles, “Well, I would have ruined it with this breath.”

“Oh luv, we are a right mess, aren’t we?” Niall laughs. Leave it to Cait to find humor and ruin the moment. 

Cait smiles and nods. From there, he helps her to the couch setting her up where she is comfortable with ice packs and the remote. He is in the kitchen making her some food when the doorbell rings. Not expecting anyone, he laughs when he sees the delivery boy. 

Balloons, flowers, soup, chocolates, and fruit in an insanely huge basket with a card. He walks in and shows Cait.

“I think this is for you,” Niall says as he hands her the card. 

“Get well soon, Cait. We are so sorry about your accident. Let us know if Niallers doesn’t take good care of you. Love, Harry and Louis.” 

“Awww, that is so sweet of them. How did they know?”

Niall ducks his head down before answering, “Umm, I kind of freaked out needed to talk to them. They are the only ones that know though.” 

“It’s fine, I appreciate their concern. Your friends are so sweet.” 

“They are your friends too. You have charmed them, just like you have charmed me.”

“Charmed? Isn’t that more your area, ya’ Irish lad?”

“Hmphf,” Niall says as he goes to put the basket away and feed Cait. 

The two spend the rest of the day, cuddling and watching movies while Cait dozes. Niall texts Harry and Louis, thanking them for the basket and gives his mum an update on Cait when she texts. He looks down at her asleep on his chest and feels so thankful for what his life has become and it is not long until he is sound asleep as well. 

*For God’s Sake


	13. Chapter 13

After a few days, Cait is healing and Niall goes back to being a presence on social media and does a few interviews, hosting a radio show and working. He also talks a lot more with the guys about a reunion thanks to Liam jumping the gun and now One Direction is trending again which irritates Louis to no end.   
Cait splits her time between both their flats. She can’t exercise yet and seems out of sorts. Not quite sure what to do with herself. One day, she finally sets herself up on the balcony while he is working, but Niall can sense she is antsy. Hell, he is too. 

Walking outside to join her, he asks, “Luv, do you want to go for a drive tomorrow. Maybe have a picnic somewhere and get lost?”

“I would love too, now that school is over, I am getting claustrophobic. I need something to do.”

They get up early the next day and pack a picnic lunch and head out in Niall’s car, Cait making sure she grabs her camera, Niall his guitar. 

“Where we headed?” she asks. 

“I don’t know, but I am thinking south, you game? Let’s get off the grid as you like to say.” 

“I’ll follow you anywhere, Boo.” 

They end up at the Dungeness Reserve on the English Channel spending the day exploring, walking along the beach and enjoying the fresh air. There is not a soul around which is refreshing to Niall. 

He lets Cait take the lead and he follows, perfectly happy to watch her explore. Every once in awhile she will see something and take a picture, smiling when she looks at the playback. She points out different things, sand pipers frolicking on the shore. A tidal pool, crabs scampering on the sand. A shell. Every little thing brings her joy and that joy trickles down to him. She notices all the things he doesn’t, appreciates the small things. 

Eventually they return to the car and set up their picnic. They eat and afterwards with full tummies, he plays his guitar, strumming a few melodies while she curls up on the blanket and just listens, content with each other. 

Niall watches her lay there with the sun shining down, a smile on her face, the sound of the waves in the background and closes his eyes as he takes a mental snapshot of this perfect moment. He doesn’t know why but he starts to sing “Home.” The song Liam and Louis wrote seems perfect at that moment. Cait is his everything, his new beginning, his middle, his end, his home. 

He is so lost in the song, that he doesn’t realize that Cait’s watching him, taking pictures. Then he feels her come up behind him and put her arm around him, while she nuzzles him behind his ear. Niall doesn’t stop singing, but only smiles. Her hand is over his heart, spreading warmth over his body as she whispers in his ear “You are my Home.”

Niall leans against Cait and stops singing, looking up at her he says, “and you are mine Caitlin Lindsay Guion.”

Setting his guitar down, he turns around and pulls her on his lap, kissing her slowly and softly. The kisses become more frantic, as though they are fighting to show each other their love. When Niall kisses the small of her throat, Cait leans back as he trails a row of kisses between her breasts and slides his hand under her shirt, brushing his thumb below her breast. She groans in response and he puts both hands around her to lay her down and this time she moans and lets a painful “Oh.” 

Niall freezes realizing what he just did. “Oh Cait, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He lifts up her shirt and trails a row of kisses across her bruised ribs that are still an ugly color. 

“Sorry, to ruin the moment. Damn, that would be my luck,” she tries to make light of the situation.

Niall scoops her up and lays her so she is leaning against him; Cait keeping her hand across her ribs as he tries to help her get comfortable. They sit in silence after that staring at the ocean, enjoying the moment. She lets out a content sigh that brings a smile to his face and he kisses her head. 

“Things are going to change Ni, when this is over. Our little life won’t be so easy anymore. I’m selfish to think it won’t change, but I have to be realistic. You broke down my shield, became the most important person in my life. I love you, but what’s going to happen to us?” 

Niall doesn’t answer right away thinking of his talk with him mum and the boys. 

“When I said you were my home, I meant that. I want you to be with me regardless of what our future holds, I love you Cait. It’s going to be hard, but let’s make the commitment to put our relationship first and see how those cards fall. So far, I think they have fallen in the right place. What’d ya’ think about that?” 

“I think I would like nothing more than that, Niall James Horan and yes, they have.” she answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this story is complete, but don't worry, I'm currently working on part three. :) 
> 
> I'm fairly new to all of this, so comments, ideas, suggestions, constructive feedback is always welcomed. :)


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